


Perfect Strangers

by mismatched_ideas



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Chance Meetings, Gen, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Lost friendship, Melancholy, Past Feelings, Post-Canon, Second Chances, Short One Shot, because tags are hard, friends to strangers, other tags not included, there is no romance in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 09:41:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18547198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mismatched_ideas/pseuds/mismatched_ideas
Summary: It had been about nine years since Bokuto graduated from high school. Eight since Akaashi graduated. Seven since they last saw each other in person. A lifetime since they were classmates and teammates and best friends.Now a chance meeting reminds Akaashi of what he'd accidentally let fall through his fingers.





	1. Perfect Strangers

**Author's Note:**

> This is a short one-shot written to get me out of a writing funk I've been in. It is also only minorly edited, I'm sorry.
> 
> EDIT: I have now written three more chapters. The first chapter can be read by itself still.

If Akaashi had to pick his favorite things about swimming, it would be the way the water muffled everything around him. On good days he’d find himself in a sort of trace, the only sensations reaching his mind being the sound of his ragged breathing and the feeling of his arms moving through the cool water. 

He’d only picked up swimming recently. He’d learned how to swim back in elementary school, but Akaashi had never been that interested in it, instead gravitating towards team sports that didn’t put too much of a spotlight on him. Sports like swimming and running left him alone and in charge of everything by himself which, as a child, had been too much for him to handle. In Junior High School things had started to change and he became more comfortable with taking responsibility for his and others' actions, though it was still hard. Volleyball had done him a lot of good and that was just one of the ways. 

But since finishing high school, he’d not played volleyball in any real capacity. He’d played a few games in a college intramural league because his roommate’s team needed one more player to be able to play. Other than that, he’d not really been interested in team sports anymore. He’d reached the highest point he would in high school and so it seemed reasonable for him to simply move on. But he still needed to work out and so he ended up gravitating towards the pool. The pool was always quieter than the weight rooms were and the people tended to be less irritating. 

Now, three years out of university and three years into a normal career, he’d continued to swim to keep his health up. 

Akaashi came to the gym after work five days a week, with the weekends as rest days. It was near his office and so some of his coworkers also came after work, meaning he usually had to say hello or goodbye to people while he was there. Part of him wanted to go to a further gym so he could have more solitude, but he never went through with that plan. 

He didn’t dislike his coworkers and he knew he was just being unfriendly. He needed to remember to be pleasant and normal. Luckily he wasn’t expected to smile like the women at his office were. He felt bad for them for a lot of reasons, but that was a small issue he could really empathize with. They dealt with more than he did and maybe that’s why he found them less consistently grading than a lot of the men he worked with. Or maybe it was because he worked with a lot of men who if they knew anything meaningful about him would probably ridicule, ignore, or distrust him. 

“See you next week, Akaashi-san,” one of his coworkers called as he left. 

“You too, Konishi-san,” Akaashi responded before going back to packing his bag. 

After one a few moments of being back in his own mind, someone else called to him, but Akaashi was sure it wasn’t one of his coworkers. He was sure because he knew that voice, no matter how unlikely it was. 

“Akaashi-kun?” 

Akaashi turned towards the voice, unable to keep surprised off his face when he realized he’d been right. 

For a moment, Akaashi just started at Bokuto Koutarou, realizing that even in the two or so years since he was in the Olympics, Bokuto hadn’t changed that much. Except for the one big difference that was his black, undyed hair. But the eyes and the voice and the posture and, most of all, the smile were all Bokuto and Akaashi had no idea what to say. 

“Bokuto-san, this is unexpected.” 

“I’ll say,” Bokuto responded with a smile that Akaashi couldn’t believe he still possessed. Bokuto might not know much about Akaashi, but Akaashi had been following his path as a young athlete and the last two years hadn’t been kind to him. “How long has it been?”

“At least seven years, I think,” Akaashi told him. “Do you come here often?”

“Not as much as I’d like, but at least once a week. How about you?”

“I always come after work, unless I have to work overtime.” Akaashi found he still didn’t know how to process all this, but he knew he needed to try. “Do you live around here?”

“Yeah, it’s on my way home from work.” 

It had been about a year and a half since Bokuto announced his early retirement from professional sports following an injury. How the injury occurred had been a mystery for a few months until the news broke that it hadn’t been an accident and it hadn’t been volleyball related. Instead, he’d been attacked and the injury was severe enough to keep him off the court for at least six months. 

“What are you doing now?” Akaashi paused and then added. “I was sorry to hear about what happened.”

“It wasn’t a big deal,” Bokuto said, his shoulders dropping and his smile faltering. Even now, he was bad at lying and at hiding his emotions and something about that was comforting. 

But there was a distance between them and so Akaashi didn’t know what to say or do. 

Akaashi remembered Bokuto’s last day of school and the few moments away from the madness of the day that they’d gotten. He remembered how they’d made promises about staying friends and staying in touch. He remembered how he’d broken down and cried. He remembered how little he cried—he cried even less now, but that was beside the point—but how easy it had always been to cry around Bokuto. 

He remembered that first year when they were still not so far away from each other because they were still both in Tokyo. They were busy, but they still talked. They were stressed, but occasionally they were able to see each other. Bokuto even came to the spring finals to watch his old team, only to have them lose before they could have a rematch with Kurasuno. Akaashi had wanted to defend their title, but in the end, it was Kurasuno that made it to the end, without ever having to face them. 

That had been the last time he’d seen Bokuto in person. They’d had another moment of privacy after Akaashi had fled to find somewhere isolated so the younger boys wouldn’t see him cry. But Bokuto had found him—he always had back in high school and a year hadn’t changed that—and Akaashi had very embarrassingly cried with his face pressed into Bokuto’s chest. 

He’d never meant for them to fall out of touch, but America was far away and Bokuto was busy with school and volleyball. Akaashi knew Bokuto could be forgetful when texting was involved and he should have been more persistent. He should have done more to keep him close, but Akaashi had been tired and busy with his own life and they had, as so many high school friends do, drifted. 

“Either way,” Akaashi finally said. “Oh, and I guess I need to congratulate you on your gold medal.”

“It wasn’t just me,” Bokuto said. “The entire team was… awesome. I mean, gold, after so many years of not even qualifying…” Bokuto shook his head. “We were lucky.”

“You worked hard,” Akaashi said assuredly. He knew Bokuto and he was sure the same could be said about everyone else he’d played with. “How long have you been coming here?” 

“Pretty much since I started my new job– oh! I didn’t even tell you. I’m a PE teacher and I'm the assistant volleyball coach,” Bokuto said, his smile returning. “But that’s not even the coolest part.”

“Yeah?” Akaashi’s eyebrow raised just slightly, his lips nearly pulling into a smile. “And what is?” 

“I’m working at Fukurodani!” 

“Really?” Akaashi was genuinely shocked by that news. “Like, really?” 

“Well, Coach Yamiji is still there so he put in a good word for me. And having a gold medal does help.” Bokuto laughed loudly, earning him a dirty look from an old man currently changing only a few meters from them. “But, it’s so great. All the kids are great. Like seriously, I can’t believe how good they all are. It’s like, the team now is better than even the year we won at the Spring Tournament. It’s a little weird to think that we were there not that long ago but it’s all so different.” 

“ _Prayers cannot halt the revolving of nature _,” Akaashi said without thinking, earning him a looking of confusion from Bokuto. “Sorry, it’s only been seven years, I doubt you’ve suddenly become enthralled in traditional Japanese literature.”__

__“Nope, not really,” Bokuto agreed. “But I guess seven years have changed you, Akaashi-kun, because you hated Japanese literature in high school.”_ _

__“It was just that class,” Akaashi explained, remembering how much he’d hated that teacher while he tried to ignore the stupid way Bokuto’s added honorific hurt. “I was just saying that things never stop changing.”_ _

__“I guess not,” Bokuto said, looking away from a moment, a small silence passing between them before he spoke again, his positivity back. “You should totally come to some of the games. This team is seriously great and it would be so cool to get alumni to come back sometimes.”_ _

__“That sounds… interesting,” Akaashi told him even though he wasn’t sure he could bring himself to return to his old high school. He was afraid it would hurt more than he ever wanted to admit._ _

__“What about you, what have you been doing? What are you doing now? How was America?”_ _

__Akaashi shrugged, not sure what he could say that would be even a little interesting to Bokuto._ _

__“I’ve been fine. I’m a civil engineer.” Akaashi let himself smile just a little. “And America was good. I made some good friends at university. You should have seen their faces when I told them that I played volleyball with you in high school. They made me show them so many pictures to prove it.”_ _

__Bokuto’s demeanor changed and he looked suddenly... strange. Akaashi couldn’t pinpoint the emotion, but it was wrong._ _

__“Akaashi-kun… You told them about me?”_ _

__“Of course,” Akaashi said with a sigh of his own, wanting to ask the reason for the sudden honorific._ _

__But it made sense and Akaashi knew it. They hadn’t spoken in years and they weren’t kids anymore. Bokuto wasn’t his classmate or his teammate or his friend anymore. Honestly, ‘kun’ was probably more familiarity than anyone else would have used in this situation. They were older now and a year difference was no longer the huge chasm that it had been in school. If he’d run into Konoha or Sarukui there was a good chance that they would have used ‘san’ simply because of the lack of familiarity they shared._ _

__He wasn’t friends with any of them anymore. He left the country for four years and the world moved on without him. It wasn’t like he’d tried to keep up._ _

__“See you next week, Akaashi-senpai,” another coworker said shyly as he passed by, looking even younger in sports clothes than he did in a suit._ _

__“I’ll see you. Good work today, Koike-kun.”_ _

__“You’re popular,” Bokuto said, sounding only half joking._ _

__“This gym is near my office, a lot of us come here.”_ _

__“I’m sure they all love you.”_ _

__Akaashi snorted because despite knowing Bokuto was being honest, the idea that anyone would see him as more than a work-acquaintance was funny to him. It wasn’t really their fault anyway since he was the one who kept people at arm’s length._ _

__“We work together, that’s pretty much it.” Akaashi took a few beats before asking the question that had been on his mind since he learned Bokuto was a teacher. “The school is okay with… I mean, they’re not assholes about…”_ _

__Bokuto saved Akaashi from his own ramblings with a low, unfamiliar laugh._ _

__“They’re fine. Mostly as long as I don’t talk about being bi, they’re fine with it. They just pretend they don’t know and that makes it okay. And parents have a hard time complaining since I am more than qualified for this position. It’s hard to be outright bigoted these days.”_ _

__Akaashi laughed at that, “I guess you’re right. It’s better than when we were in high school. I never would have even imagined telling–” Akaashi stopped himself, remembering that not only was he about to out himself to Bokuto but also to any coworkers who were within earshot. “I never would have imagined you weren’t straight.”_ _

__“It’s easy to pass when you’re also interested in the right people,” Bokuto said with another low laugh._ _

__“Don’t say that. You shouldn’t have to… It shouldn’t be…” Akaashi sighed, pushing down his growing frustration at his own inability to verbalize his own thoughts. “How did your family take it”_ _

__“They knew before I announced it officially,” Bokuto explained, kindly ignoring Akaashi’s struggle with words at the moment. “I wouldn’t say they like it, but they’re fine with it. And they still love me, just maybe not that part of me. I guess they could have taken it better, but they definitely could have taken it worse, so I’m happy. That said, I think my dad probably hopes I end up falling for a woman so he doesn’t really have to confront this directly.”_ _

__“I’m sorry to hear that,” Akaashi said. “How about your sister?”_ _

__“She’s the reason I had the courage to tell anyone at all. She’s been really great the last five or six years. I felt really lonely at the beginning of my last year of University, but she was there for me.”_ _

__Akaashi felt a pang of guilt hearing that Bokuto had been lonely, but he pushed it away. He’d been in America, a world away. It was conceded to think that he could have done much to lessen Bokuto’s loneliness. It was conceded to think that there could even be a connection between him and that loneliness._ _

__“I’m glad you had someone there for you.”_ _

__For a moment, they stood in silence, looking at each other like they were strangers and Akaashi realized that no matter what, they were strangers. They’d been out of touch longer than they’d been friends and there was no way around that. He had so many questions he wanted to ask and so many things he wanted to say, but he knew it was all too much. It would be too much to ask of this familiar stranger standing within his grasp._ _

__Bokuto opened his mouth to say something, closed it, and then sighed before he finally spoke._ _

__“Akaashi-kun, I should let you go.”_ _

__“Oh.” Akaashi started at Bokuto for a beat too long before he figured out what the proper, normal response was to what he’d said. “I guess you have places to be.”_ _

__“I mean, not really, but do you need to catch a train?”_ _

__“I do.”_ _

__“Then I should let you go.”_ _

__“I guess you’re right.” Akaashi zipped up his bag and pulled it onto one shoulder before straightening up to look at Bokuto. “I should get going.”_ _

__“I’m really happy I saw you again,” Bokuto told him honestly. “This was really crazy, but I’m glad it happened.”_ _

__“Me too,” Akaashi told him, feeling suddenly out of his depth. It was like he thought he was jumping into a puddle only for him to dive straight into the middle of the ocean. “Maybe I’ll see you again.”_ _

__“I’m sure we’ll see each other again.” Bokuto smiled at Akaashi again. “And you really have to come see Fukurodani play.”_ _

__“I’ll try to,” Akaashi promised, swallowing words the childish part of him wanted to shout about how he never meant for them to drift apart. “I guess I’ll see you later, Bokuto-san.”_ _

__“See you later, Akaashi-kun.”_ _

__Akaashi turned and left then, that final honorific driving home the fact that things had changed more than he could have ever imagined. It wasn’t that the changes didn’t make sense—they made perfect sense—it was just that he never expected to have to face them._ _

__But once Bokuto was out of his sight, Akaashi felt his emotions even out and he sighed because, in the end, that hadn’t been too bad. It hadn’t even been awkward._ _

__They hadn’t talked about the way they’d ended up as strangers thanks not to a fight but to inaction. They hadn’t talked about who was to blame for that drifting or if it was possible to fix the seven years apart._ _

__They didn’t talk about the last time they saw each other and Akaashi had still been in high school and he’d held on to Bokuto in a very unfriendly way as he cried into Bokuto's shirt in an over-familiar way._ _

__They didn’t talk about Bokuto’s last day of high school. Neither had mentioned the tight hug they’d shared for just a little too long. Bokuto hadn’t brought up the way that the beginning of their hug had probably looked a lot more like an attempt at a kiss than like a hug. Akaashi hadn’t admitted that he’d fallen hard for Bokuto before they’d even spoken and that that infatuation hadn’t faded even when all he had of Bokuto were memories and a moving image on his roommate's computer as they watched the Olympics._ _

__Akaashi didn’t admit how angry he was with himself for not just trying to kiss Bokuto, consequences be damned._ _

__Instead, they’d had a nice, normal, adult conversation about work and family. They’d said all the right things even when the path led places that were a little more personal._ _

__They’d been the perfect strangers and for the first time in a while, Akaashi felt like crying and for the first time ever he didn’t want Bokuto to know._ _


	2. Careful Acquaintances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bokuto and Akaashi talk a little more and Akaashi has a lunch meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As with the first chapter, this is barely edited.

That evening, Akaashi swam much harder than he usually did. Usually, he spent about forty minutes in the pool and would swim about two kilometers. 

Tonight, though, he ended up doing 5 kilometers with only two short breaks to take a drink of his water. That meant he was in the pool for over an hour and a half and also felt half dead when he finished. Or, more than half dead. Maybe more like nine-tenths dead. 

He couldn’t say the exact reason why he felt the need to swim like someone was chasing him, but Akaashi knew part of it was a feeling that the longer he stayed underwater, the less likely someone would talk to him. 

Half the reason Akaashi ever started swimming was to avoid talking to people. In the weight room or on a treadmill, it was very easy for someone to strike up a conversation whether he wanted one or not. But it was much harder to start a conversation when someone was swimming. Even if he stopped swimming, most people wouldn’t start a conversation because it was obvious that would keep him from his workout. 

Under the water, there was very little to think about other than his ragged breath and the number of laps he’d completed. Even when his mind wandered, it was never to serious things because he just couldn’t keep concentrating on much when he was tired and oxygen-starved. 

Even though today was the first time he’d swam quite that much, Akaashi had been swimming for longer in the past few weeks. He was getting tired of being forced into locker room conversations with coworkers when he just wanted to be alone with his thoughts. 

Tonight, when he came around the corner toward his locker—he hadn’t showered yet—he found a familiar face who’d clearly just finished showering and was now getting ready to head out. 

“Bokuto-san,” Akaashi greeted. “Good to see you again.” 

“Ah! Akaashi-kun,” Bokuto looked surprised and Akaashi wasn’t sure why. Sure, it had almost been a month since they last talked, but the fact that they went to the same gym hadn’t changed. “Did you just finish?” 

“Yeah, still need to shower,” Akaashi moved to open his locker. “How was your workout?” 

“Great. I ran on the treadmill today and made friends with the woman on the next treadmill over.” 

Akaashi nearly laughed at that, thinking it was just like Bokuto to do that. If Akaashi had been the woman, he would have hated someone trying to talk to him while he exercised and yet the thought of Bokuto doing that exact thing made him very happy. 

“Best part is, she didn’t know who I was so it wasn’t even weird.” 

“Weird how?” 

“Well, it’s tiring to meet new people sometimes,” Bokuto admitted, his forthrightness obviously not having faded much since high school. “Like either, they want to tell me how much they don’t care I’m bi and that they support me so much, or they immediately don’t want to talk to me because I’m weird or gross or whatever they think. When people don’t know me, we can just talk.” 

“Oh, I apologize if I’m–”

Before he could even finish the sentence, Bokuto narrowed his eyes at Akaashi.

“Akaashi-kun, I obviously wasn’t talking about you.”

“I mean, I do know you and last time we talked I brought that up–”

Again, Bokuto interrupted Akaashi. “That’s not what I mean by people who know me. I mean people who recognize me. People who only know me as that bi Olympic athlete who got the shit beat out of him. You know I’m that, but you know I’m also not just that.”

“Then... Well… I had been thinking…” Akaashi trailed off, not sure why he had to be so ineloquent with Bokuto. “Do you mind if I ask you something about that topic?”

“I mean, sure, if you want.” Bokuto tilted his head to the side. “I don’t mind if it’s you.”

“Well…” Akaashi tried to find the best way to ask his question without it implying any sort of judgment. “Why’d you decide to do it? To come out publicly, I mean. You had to know what it could do to your career.”

“Sure I knew,” Bokuto said with a shrug. “I never really expected a physical attack. I thought we were past that. But maybe I was being naive to think that.” 

Bokuto sighed, looking suddenly tired, the light in his eyes dulling a little bit as his shoulders drooped. 

“I was tired of hiding. People have always been telling me to be less obvious about everything. They’d say I shouldn’t show my emotions so strongly. They said I should be more reserved when talking to people. In that expectation, there was a rule that it was okay to be bi or gay or whatever as long as it was hidden and unlike everything else, I went with that for a long time. I understood that it was okay to have a crush on your friend’s sister, but it wasn’t okay to have a crush on that friend if you were both guys. So I made sure never to talk about that part of myself. But then I realized that just like with everything else, I didn’t need to do that. I was allowed to be myself even if everyone told me not to. I wasn’t hurting anyone, I was just being true to myself.” 

Bokuto sighed and shrugged again, looking into his locker as if he couldn’t bring himself to look at Akaashi. 

“You’ve always been better at the whole fitting in thing than I am so maybe all this seems like a stupid risk for me to have taken, but I really just… I wanted to be happy. Maybe I’d fall in love with a woman and nobody would need to know. But even then, I’d still be lying to myself and to the world. It would have made me unhappy in the long run. And what if I fell in love with a man? Then what? Would I just give up on that?”

“For the record,” Akaashi said quietly. “I don’t think you made the wrong choice. I just don’t know how you can be so courageous.”

“It’s not courage, it’s just me,” Bokuto said, looking at Akaashi with unwavering certainty in his statement. 

After a moment of eye contact, Akaashi turned away, rooting through his bag aimlessly. 

“You may not think of it as courageous, but I can tell you that as a coward, I’d never be able to do the same.” 

“You’re braver than you think.” 

Akaashi didn’t know what to say to that, didn’t know what he could say, and was saved by a voice behind him. Or maybe, in the long run, it was more of a curse, but at the moment it felt like a miracle. 

“Akaashi-senpai?” 

Akaashi turned, his mind working through the face in front of him, searching quickly for the right name. 

“Hayashi-kun, is something wrong?” 

“Oh, no, sorry,” the young man’s eyes wandered past Akaashi, landing on Bokuto like he just noticed him. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. Or, I mean, I guess I did, but… well, I’m sorry for interrupting.” 

“It’s alright,” Akaashi said, mostly because he knew it was what he was supposed to say. “I’m sure Bokuto-san has to leave soon, anyway. Did you need something?” 

“Well, umm…” Hayashi bit his lip. “I guess, Akaashi-senpai, I was wondering if this week we could have lunch or something. I have some questions about work that I want some advice on.” 

“Oh, well, sure, that’s fine. I’ll find you tomorrow at work and we can plan it.” 

“Thank you…” After a moment more of hesitation, Hayashi looked at Bokuto. “Umm… Also, Bokuto Koutarou-san, right?” 

Bokuto nodded, “Yeah, I am.”

“I’m Hayashi Ichirou, I work with Akaashi-senpai,” he said unnecessarily. “I used to play volleyball back in high school and I loved watching you play in the Olympics and… yeah, that’s all I wanted to say, I guess. Also, when I was younger, I saw some of the highlights of when you were in high school and it was very inspiring, so thank you.” 

“Oh, if you want to talk about high school, you should really watch those clips again,” Bokuto said, a wide smile suddenly appearing on his face. “If you pay attention, you might notice that you also know the setter.” 

“Huh?” 

“Akaashi and I played on the same team. He was my setter for two years. One of the best when we were in high school too. Definitely my favorite setter.” 

Akaashi felt a slight burning in his cheeks that he hoped wasn’t too obvious, but Bokuto’s sudden gushing had caught him off guard. First, he’d dropped the honorific then he’d called Akaashi ‘my setter’ like it was no big deal. And then he’d called Akaashi his favorite setter like he hadn’t played with the best setters in the country—and arguably some of the best in the world—during college and beyond. 

“Seriously?” Hayashi asked, looking at Akaashi with a look of open-mouthed wonder. “I thought I heard them say ‘Akaashi’ but I never thought it could be the same person.” 

“Yep, we had some great times at Fukurodani. Oh!” Bokuto turned to look at Akaashi, his eyes bright again. “I nearly forgot. Any time you can come to a practice or a game or something, just give your name at the gate and you’ll be let in. Coach wants you to come too. Something about teaching the kids what our saying means.”

Akaashi smiled at that, thinking back fondly to those days in high school. Despite the many difficulties he’d had—emotional, social, physical, and academic all rolled into a three-year rollercoaster—it was a great time. 

“Okay, tell him I’ll try my best.” Akaashi turned back to Hayashi, realizing he and Bokuto had sort of been ignoring him. “Well, Hayashi-kun, I’ll see you tomorrow. I need to take a shower now.” 

“Thank you,” he responded, bowing first to Akaashi then to Bokuto. “And it was nice to meet you, Bokuto-san.” 

Hayashi left quickly and Akaashi turned to give Bokuto a small smile. 

“I’ll be seeing you?”

“I think so,” Bokuto agreed. “Goodnight, Akaashi.” 

“Goodnight, Bokuto-san.” 

\---

It was a Saturday afternoon when Akaashi found himself sitting across from Hayashi Ichirou in a quiet cafe at a table tucked into a quiet corner. It was the weekend so both of them were wearing casual clothes, with Hayashi looking younger than 22 in his t-shirt and jeans. But maybe Akaashi just thought that because he still had a hard time believing he was 26. 

For Akaashi’s part, he wasn’t exactly dressed to make himself look older either. He was wearing a simple outfit of black jeans, a white t-shirt, and a long-sleeve green button-up that he’d left unbuttoned. 

Hayashi looked more nervous than Akaashi could find a reason for him to be. He knew that he could be intimidating sometimes thanks to his generally flat affect, but Akaashi didn’t think that was the source of Hayashi’s nerves. 

“What’s going on, Hayashi-kun,” Akaashi finally asked when Hayashi appeared unable to start the conversation. “What did you need advice on?”

“You know,” Hayashi started, looking at his coffee intently. “After hearing you played volleyball with Bokuto-san I went and found some of those videos and rewatched them. You two seem close.” 

“We were, I guess,” Akaashi admitted. “But to be honest, in the last seven years I’ve only talked to him twice.” 

“Oh.” Hayashi still didn’t look up. “Well, umm, then, umm... well… Uh…” Hayashi swallowed dryly. “How did you feel about– Did you already know– Most people were surprised–”

“Hayashi-kun, please just ask the questions,” Akaashi said, feeling tired by this interaction already. 

“How’d you feel about him being bisexual?” 

Akaashi was caught off guard by that question, not sure where he expected this conversation to go but knowing it wasn’t there. 

“Huh?” Akaashi nearly laughed, thinking how silly that question was for him, but knowing that since he was deep in the closet there was no way the question would seem that silly to a stranger. “I didn’t really care. I was a little sad he never told me in high school, but that was hardly surprising. Nobody was out when I was in high school.”

And maybe Akaashi had been a little angry, thinking that if he’d known back then he would have had the confidence to kiss Bokuto or at least tell him about his feelings. 

“What did you think about him coming out publicly.” 

“It’s his choice, of course,” Akaashi said. “And he’s an adult. He was then. He knew what was the best thing for him, even if it wasn’t always the best thing for his career. Sometimes being truthful is more important.” 

Akaashi felt like a hypocrite, knowing he would never be able to take the very advice he was giving. 

“He couldn’t have guessed someone would attack him. I think most people thought we were passed that kind of thing.” 

“In the office, you don’t really talk about a girlfriend, do you?” 

Akaashi’s blood turned cold and he felt sick even though he was careful not to let it show. 

“I don’t have a girlfriend, but I’m not really one to talk about my personal life anyway.” 

“And you never talk with the guys about the women we work with.” 

“It’s not right, they’re our coworkers and I don’t agree with some of the comments that are made. I’m not a big fan of gossip in general.” 

“I didn’t think so, which is why I thought I could talk to you…” Hayashi paused to chew on his lip thoughtfully. “None of the women in the office are my type, yah know?”

Akaashi blinked at him for a few moments before something clicked and he realized that Hayashi wasn’t trying to figure out if Akaashi’s was gay. Instead, he was carefully coming out himself. 

“Oh, I see,” Akaashi said, nodding. “So, what advice were you looking for from me?” 

“Do you think it’s a good idea for me to be more open about my type?” 

“That not something I can decide for you. It’s about how important your type is.” 

“Let’s say my type is blonde women,” Hayashi said as he casually glanced around at the empty tables surrounding him as if he expected someone to suddenly appear. “If I fall in love with a blonde, what should I do? Keep it quiet or give up? Or do I not worry about it and just fall in love with the blonde?” 

“I can’t answer that question. I honestly don’t know myself. But in my opinion, staying quiet is easier. Blending in is easier.”

“Is easy the best idea?”

“I don’t know, Hayashi-kun,” Akaashi said with a sigh. “If I were you, I wouldn’t say a thing unless absolutely necessary, but I’m not you. Some people are courageous and maybe you are, but I’m not.” 

Bokuto had told him coming out hadn’t been courageous, that he’d just been him, but Akaashi couldn’t help but admire Bokuto’s bravery like he admired everything about him. Even as he tried to say he was over him, Akaashi knew that that wasn’t true. Just two meetings in seven years and suddenly he couldn’t stop thinking about Bokuto. Not that he ever really stopped thinking about him. 

“If you were a little braver, what would you do?” Hayashi asked quietly. “Not super brave, but just a little brave.”

“I’d probably not say anything direct,” Akaashi told him with another sigh. “But I wouldn’t lie. Maybe I’d fall in love and if I did, I wouldn’t lie to people, I’d just tell them the truth. If I was a little braver, I’d feel just comfortable enough to live my own life without worrying what other people might think.” 

“Thank you, Akaashi-senpai,” Hayashi said with a small smile. “That’s really helpful.” 

“And for the record, if you decided to tell people about your type and anyone give you shit, I’ll stand with you.” Akaashi might not be able to be brave for himself, but he was damn good at being brave for other people. 

“I have one more favor to ask.”

“What is it?” 

“Do you think Bokuto-san would be willing to grab lunch with me? I really want to talk to someone about this that’s been through it.”

“I’ll ask him,” Akaashi promised. “Though I can’t tell you what he’ll say. He might not want to talk about it.”

“That’s okay, I’d just like if you could ask for me,” Hayashi told him, looking down as his cheeks turned a little red. “And, Akaashi-senpai, thank you again for this.” 

“It’s really nothing. But why me?” He asked, hoping it wasn’t because everyone already suspected he was gay. “Why would you trust me with this?”

“Well, you’re friends with Bokuto-san and you didn’t seem like you felt awkward around him when I saw you guys the other day. Also, you’re not like most of the other guys we work with. You always seem so… You seem like someone who is easy to talk to. Someone who doesn’t judge others.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Akaashi told him genuinely even though he doubted he really seemed like someone who was easy to talk to, especially at work. Most of the time at work he was trying not to be talked to. “I’m not sure how true it is, but thank you.”

“I know there’s not much I could do, but if you ever need anything, I’m here to help,” Hayashi added, his cheeks reddening further. “I mean, if you need advice, not that I’m very good at advice…” 

“Hmm, maybe I’ll take you up on that,” Akaashi said biting his lip before continuing. “If you were a little less brave and a friend from a long time ago asked you to return to your high school would you go even if you were afraid of what the change might do to you?” 

“Well, I can’t really say, but I guess even if I wasn’t that brave, which I’m not, then I’d still go.” Hayashi looked at Akaashi, tilting his head to the side in a way that reminded Akaashi of Bokuto. “Change is always scary, but the only way to accept it is to look at it. I mean, if you want to move forward you need to change and if you want to change you have to be able to accept change.” 

Akaashi fell quiet for a moment and Hayashi spoke one more time. 

“ _ People aren't overcome by situations or outside forces. Defeat comes from within. _ ” Hayashi paused again before looking embarrassed. “Not to say any of this is your fault. I just mean… you have the power to do this. The past doesn’t have to define you and neither does the present. You define you and you get to decide how to do that.” 

Akaashi smiled, thinking that maybe Hayashi was misinterpreting the quote, but knowing he meant well. 

“ _ Kitchen _ , right?” 

“Yeah.”

“It’s a good book.”

“Yoshimoto Banana is one of my favorite authors,” Hayashi admitted. 

“Ishiguro Kazuo is my favorite…” Akaashi paused before sighing and smiling slightly ay Hayashi. “Thank you for your help, Hayashi-kun.” 

“Don’t worry about it,” Hayashi told him with another blush, nearly making Akaashi laugh.

He thought if Hayashi could be brave, maybe he could try to be a little less scared. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the continuation of this fic! I'm on vacation right now so I'm not sure when I'll put the next chapter up, but it will be in a day or two since the whole thing is written, it just needs to be uploaded.


	3. Uncertain Associates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even time can't dispel certain familiarities and that is both scary and comforting.

When Akaashi arrived at the gates of his old high school, he felt suddenly like a first-year student again. He was wearing a suit, a sports bag slung over his shoulder even though he wasn’t sure he’d been needing it. He felt sick to his stomach as his anxiety rose. 

He remembered his first day of practice better than anything else about those first few weeks of school. The nervousness in his stomach at the thought of meeting so many new people. The anxious excitement over being able to meet Bokuto, the boy who had captivated him so much the year before. The fear that he wouldn’t be good enough or that his teammates would dislike him. 

The nervousness he felt now but different, but at the same time, it was the same. 

The nervousness in his stomach at the thought of seeing so many new high schoolers. The anxious excitement over being able to see Bokuto again, this time outside of the gym.  The fear that he wouldn’t be able to handle the change or that nobody would appreciate his being there. 

At the end of the day, everyone had changed but he’d mostly stayed the same. 

“Sir, you’re not allowed to loiter out here,” the security guard at the front gate finally said. “Please move along.”

“Oh, my apologies!” Akaash exclaimed. “I was just wondering if I was too early.”

“Too early?” 

“I’m here to work with the volleyball team. I believe my name should be on a list. I’m Akaashi Keiji.” 

The guard checked a list and nodded, “Can I see ID?” 

Once he’d confirmed Akaashi’s identity, he waved him through. 

“Do you need me to show you the way?” 

“No, I should be fine. I’ve been here before.” 

The guard nodded and Akaashi hiked his back higher onto his shoulder, wishing he could breathe. 

\---   
As he approached the gym, Akaashi was a little surprised to hear sounds that were so familiar. He knew he shouldn’t be surprised, volleyball was still volleyball, but he was a little relieved that some things would never change. 

He was worried about just walking in, not wanting to disrupt practice too much. He wasn’t sure exactly when he should arrive so he timed it for somewhere in the middle of practice, but he wasn’t sure that was actually the best time. 

Before he could think about what he was doing, someone spoke behind him.

“E-excuse me, sir, can I help you?” 

He turned and saw it was a high school girl holding a case of water bottles tightly in both hands. Her hair was red and short, her eyes were thin and looked a little scared. She was tall for a high school girl, probably around 170cm. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to bother practice.” 

“D– do you need the coach?” She asked, her nervousness continuing, reminding Akaashi of Karasuno’s blond manager. 

She was definitely nothing like the managers he’d had in high school. Even the two first-years who’d replaced Suzumeda and Shirofuku had been full of energy and, while polite, hadn’t been that afraid of anyone even though both of them were relatively small. 

“Um… I guess I do… Actually, the assistant coach, Bokuto-san, invited me here.” 

“Oh, Bokuto-sensei!” Her eyes brightened at that. “He’s inside.” 

“I thought so,” Akaashi said, feeling nervous himself and so he repeated his concern. “I’m worried about disturbing practice.” 

“Oh, they probably won’t notice,” she said with a small laugh. “A TV crew could come into the gym and most of them wouldn’t notice. I’m Kamiyama Rie.” 

“Akaashi Keiji,” Akaashi responded. “It’s nice to meet you, Kamiyama-san.” 

She smiled at him, giggling a little when he said her name, probably unused to older men using ‘san’ with her. Akaashi never understood people who would just immediately use ‘chan’ or ‘kun’ for strangers just because they were kids. Of course, Akaashi didn’t know much about kids so maybe they preferred to be called ‘chan’ or ‘kun,’ he couldn’t be sure. 

“Follow me, Akaashi-san,” she said, her nervousness seeming to fade a little now that she knew his name. 

Entering the gym was strange. In many ways, it hadn’t changed at all. Some things were in different places and it looked like part of the gym had been updated or at least fixed. The kids practicing volleyball were different, of course, and yet they were the same. 

And maybe that was the thing that was scariest about change. Things had changed and yet they looked so similar. It was less like new people had entered and more like he’d been replaced. And wasn’t everyone afraid of being replaced? 

Kamiyama led Akaashi toward another girl–surely another manager–who looked more confident than Kamiyama. She was watching the boys closely, taking notes and barely blinking. Her black hair was long and wavy, falling to the middle of her back. She was shorter than Kamiyama, but the way she stood tall made it obvious she was either older or at least more experienced. 

“I got more water, Kimura-senpai. And someone Bokuto-sensei invited.” 

Kimura turned away from the practice to look at Akaashi, her face placid and probably as unnerving as Akaashi’s usually was. But, after a few moments, she smiled at him, her big eyes lighting up. 

“Hello! I’m Kimura Mami, manager for the Fukurodani Boy’s Volleyball Club. It’s nice to meet you.” 

“I’m Akaashi Keiji, nice to meet you too, Kimura-san.” 

Akaashi turned to watch practice, noticing that Bokuto was apparently in charge of practice, with Coach Yamiji sitting on a bench talking to a young man whose ankle was extensively wrapped, marking him as injured.

“Who’s he?” Akaashi asked, nodding toward the injured boy. 

“The vice-captain, Kuroda-senpai,” Kamiyama answered quickly. “He was our starting setter, but he hurt his ankle in the last game.” 

“Who took his place?” 

“A first-year, Yamada-kun,” Kamiyama pointed to one of the boys on the court. “He’s having some difficulties.”

“Being setter is very stressful,” Akaashi said. “Especially in his situation.” 

He remembered being put in during a game in his first year because the starting setter needed a break and he’d nearly had a nervous breakdown. Actually, it had been Bokuto who was able to keep him together. Akaashi could remember his bright eyes as he smiled at Akaashi and told him that his tosses were the best and that he’d better give him a bunch more during the game. 

“Do you play volleyball, Akaashi-san?” Kimura asked. 

“I used to, but not anymore. Honestly, I don’t know why Bokuto-san and Coach think I will be much help.” 

“Do you want me to get one of them?” Kimura asked, smiling widely. “They probably want you to help before the end of practice.”

“I guess you’re right,” Akaashi said, though he still wasn’t sure if he had been invited here help or just to watch. Looking at Bokuto, Akaashi saw he seemed busy so instead he turned toward Coach  Yamiji. “Why don’t we talk to Coach, Bokuto-san looks busy.” 

“Good idea.” 

The two girls walked Akaashi over to Coach Yamiji who looked up curiously at the three, obviously not recognizing Akaashi. 

“Hello?” He said as he stood, a question obvious in his voice. “Can I help you.” 

“Coach Yamiji, I’m Akaashi Keiji, I played for this team about eight years ago.” 

“Akaashi-kun!” Coach Yamiji exclaimed. “I didn’t recognize you! Wow, you’ve really grown up.” He laughed. “What an introduction too, did you think I wouldn’t remember you? I’m not that old.”

“Eight years is a long time and every year there are new kids to remember so it makes sense that you wouldn’t necessarily remember me simply by name,” Akaashi explained. 

“I see you’re still overthinking everything,” he said with another chuckle. “Even if you were right, there’s no way I could forget you now that I work with Bokuto-kun. He always seems to have something to say about you now that you two are talking again. I was so shocked when he told me you hadn’t talked in years.” 

“Oh, really?” Akaashi asked, not sure which part of the statement to address first. “We just fell out of touch, it wasn’t on purpose.” 

“Well, whatever the reason, you’re here now. I’m sure you’ve already asked plenty of questions about the team.”

“Not really, just asked Kimura-san and Kamiyama-san one or two.” 

“Well, while you’re over here, you should meet our vice-captain.” 

Coach Yamiji looked at the injured young man who stood on one leg so he could bow to Akaashi. 

“I’m Kuroda Yuta, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve watched some of the old videos of when you played and you were a fantastic setter.” 

“It’s nice to meet you too, Kuroda-san.”

“Akaashi-kun, are you going to be that formal with all my players?” Coach Yamiji asked. “You’re going to scare them.” 

“Huh?” Akaashied blinked. “What?”

“You sound like you’re about to punish them,” Coach Yamiji explained. “You sound like an angry teacher.” 

Akaashi let his mouth fall open, wondering if Coach Yamiji had always been so forthright with his opinions or if Bokuto had had this effect on him. 

“Okay.” 

“Don’t talk to kids much, do you?” 

“Not really, I’m a single engineer and an only child.” Akaashi sighed, not liking the direction of this conversation. “Can you tell me about the starters?” 

“Sure,” Coach Yamji said, starting to point out boys as he spoke. “The third-year captain is Hanaue-kun, the team’s ace. Our other wing spikers are Kiguchi-kun and Kita-kun, both third-years as are all three middle blockers. Their names are Oda-kun, Inoue-kun, and Aoki-kun. Our libero is Abe-kun and he’s a second-year. Last, our current starting setter is the first-year setter, Yamada-kun.” 

“Strengths and weaknesses of the team?” 

“Our blockers are strong, probably stronger than when you played here. Hanaue-kun is one of the best spikers in the Tokyo region, though he didn’t make the top three in the country. Abe-kun is very uncertain as a libero and can sometimes miss balls because he’s overthinking things. And, of course, Yamada-kun is not really prepared to be the team’s starting setter. That’s a lot for a first-year.”

“It would be a lot for anyone who hasn’t started before. Was he a starter in junior high school.” 

“His third year he was and he really impressed a lot of people. It seemed that the only reason he wasn’t a started before that was there was another great setter the year above him, but he really shined in his third-year.”

Akaashi didn’t answer, falling silent to watch the group work. Bokuto had moved over to the non-starters to give them some more instruction. He was talking to a boy who was probably a first-year and looked exhausted. Still, as Bokuto spoke, the boy nodded and stood up straighter, nodding again before shouting out an ‘okay sensei before heading back to continue working with his group. Bokuto smiled after the boy and Akaashi felt like no matter how brilliant Bokuto was on the court, right now he seemed to belong right here on this court, not as a player but as a teacher. 

Before he or Coach Yamiji could say anything, Bokuto happened to look toward them, his face cycling through several emotions as he seemed to be having trouble understanding that Akaashi had actually come. 

“Akaashi, you came!” Bokuto shouted, drawing unwanted attention in Akaashi’s direction which was almost worth it to hear him dropping the honorific from Akaashi’s name. 

But, as boys turned to look at Akaashi, he decided it wasn’t worth it and he became very still, part of him hoping if he didn’t move then people would look away. But that plan was foiled when Bokuto, of course, hurried over to Akaashi, a big smile on his face, 

“You came,” he repeated. “I sorta thought you wouldn’t.” 

“Yeah, I almost didn’t,” Akaashi admitted. 

“Well, what’re you doing in a suit?” He took note of Akaashi bag and started ushering Akaashi away. “Ah, you brought clothes, good. Go get changed. You can play volleyball in a suit. Or maybe you can, but you shouldn’t.” 

“Bokuto-san, I don’t want to disrupt practice any more than I already have.”

“Nonsense, you’re not disrupting us. You’re going to help!” 

“I don’t know the first thing about teaching volleyball.” 

“I think you’re just afraid because you’re out of shape,” Bokuto teased, still pushing Akaashi toward the locker rooms before swerving instead toward the bathrooms, saving Akaashi from having to face the locker room of his youth. 

“Bokuto-san, I go to the gym five times a week. I’m not out of shape.”

“Out of volleyball shape,” Bokuto corrected before giving him a final shove in the direction of the bathrooms. “Now get changed quickly, you were late to practice so don’t keep me waiting any longer.” 

\---

Bokuto was quick to put him to work, telling him to work with the first-year setter and the two wing spikers who weren’t the captain. After watching the three practice for a few minutes, he called over the setter. 

“Yamada-san,” he jumped at his own name and Akaashi thought he was what Coach Yamiji had been talking about. He had been told that he could come off as pretty scary. “Yamada-kun, how long have you played volleyball?”

“Since elementary school,” he answered. 

“And how long have you been a setter?” 

“Since we picked positions in elementary school,” Yamada said before adding. “I wasn’t very good at the other positions.” 

“Why are you so nervous about playing now?” Akaashi asked. “You’ve played for over five years and you were a starter in junior high school.”

“I was only a started because I was a third-year. If there had been another third-year setter, I would’ve been on the bench.”

“That’s not what your managers say.”

Yamada blushed, looking at his feet. “Fukurodani is different, though. My junior high school wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t a powerhouse or anything. Fukurodani is…” He shook his head. “My teammates deserve the best. Kuroda-senpai was so much better than me.” 

“I was a second-year starter,” Akaashi told him. “And it was a lot of pressure, but just remember that no matter who you’re playing with, it’s still just volleyball. Your practice will see you through so just trust yourself. And if you can’t trust yourself, then trust your teammates. I’m sure they’re pretty great so it’s hard to screw up too bad.” Yamada just stared at Akaashi and so he sighed, reaching up to rub the back of his head, uncertain why Bokuto thought he’d be any help here. “I guess my point is just to trust your team even if you can’t trust yourself. You don’t have to be the best, you just have to work well with your team. Being nervous around them won’t let you know them any better.”

“I just…” Yamada looked down again, his voice barely audible when he spoke. “What if they don’t like me? I mean, I took the place of their vice-captain and I’m just a first-year.”

“Unless you were the one who twisted his ankle, you don’t need to worry about,” Akaashi said with a smile. “And I’m sure they like you just fine. Even if they don’t want to be friends, which they probably will want to be, teammates is enough. Learn what they like on the court and that’ll be enough, but learning about each other off the court is…” Akaashi’s eyes wandered to Bokuto, whose face was stern as he worked with the blockers. “Don’t be afraid and you just might meet your best friend. And if you do, make sure you never let them go.” 

Yamada looked a little confused but he nodded, “Okay, Akaashi-san, I’ll try harder.” 

Akaashi laughed, wondering the last time he’d laughed so genuinely and knowing it probably was back in college. 

“The best way to start is to just ask the spikers how they like their tosses. They usually know the best and they’ll appreciate you asking.” Akaashi called the spikers back over. “I’m out of practice, but let me try to toss to you a little. Tell me what you want.” 

“Oh, umm, a bit farther from the net is best for me,” Kiguchi said after sharing a look with Kita. “Akaashi-san, you’re a setter?”

Bokuto had thrown Akaashi into this group without much of an introduction and Akaashi had felt strange giving too much of an introduction and now he realized he hadn’t even told them the position he played. 

“Oh, yeah, I used to be. But I’ve not really played since high school.” 

“Where did you go?” Kita asked, making Akaashi chuckle. 

“Here. I mean, I went to Fukurodani. I played with Bokuto-san.” 

“You played with Sensei?” Kiguchi asked with a surprised look. “Why didn’t you tell us!” 

“I just did,” Akaashi defended. “It didn’t seem that important.” 

“You were starting setter for two years here?” Yamada asked.

“Yeah, and I was vice-captain my second-year. And captain my third-year, but that was mostly because I had the most experience.” 

“How’d you make vice-captain as a second-year?” Kita asked. 

“I think it was Bokuto-san’s doing. Since first-year I did extra practices with him and helped him to get good at his straights. Of course,” he added hastily, “Bokuto-san was the one to do all the work to get good at those straights.”

The three boys started asking questions all at once and finally, Bokuto seemed to notice what was happening. 

“Hey you four, stop fooling around!” 

The three boys looked sheepish and Akaashi turned to look at Bokuto, one eyebrow raised. 

“Are you really going to talk to me about fooling around?” The three boys snickered at that and Akaashi smirked. 

“Akaashi, I worked so hard in high school!” 

“Sure, but you also fooled around plenty.” Akaashi looked at Coach Yamiji. “Right, Coach?” 

“I’m not getting involved in this,” Coach Yamiji said, throwing his hands up. “But I’d appreciate it if you didn’t distract my team.” 

Akaashi smirked at Bokuto one more time before turning back to the boys he was working with, feeling like maybe coming hadn’t been a bad idea.

\---   
The kids were in the middle of cleaning up while Akaashi talked to Coach Yamiji and Bokuto when the gym’s doors opened. Looking over, he was surprised to see a group of eight or so girls in athletic gear, followed closely by a woman who was probably a coach and a boy who looked like he was a first-year. 

“Hey!” A girl shouted at the boys' team, seeming to zero in on Hanaue. “Were you going to keep your special guest all to yourselves?” 

“Muraokkun,” Hanaue responded. “What are you talking about?”

“We heard you got to practice with an alumni who won at nationals.” 

At this point, Akaashi felt his face flushing, already disliking this level of scrutiny. 

“How in the world did you find that out?” 

Another girl, this one tall and thin, but with obvious muscles stepped forward. 

“Yuta was kind enough to text me about it.” She said with a smile. “I think he was trying to gloat.” 

“Bokuto-sensei, is this true?” the older woman asked. “You don’t want to share this expert with our team too.” 

“I’m hardly an expert,” Akaashi said, feeling like something had been terribly miscommunicated here. “I haven’t played volleyball in years.” 

“Coach Omura, I wasn’t trying to keep anything from you,” Bokuto insisted. “He’s just a friend doing me a favor. I wanted to raise the team’s morale, yah know?” 

“What about my team’s morale?” 

Bokuto looked confused and was struggling for words, making Akaashi sigh. 

“I’m not that good, but I guess I could stay and do some extra practice. But I’m just a setter, I’m not an expert in receives or blocking. I’m not an expert setter, either, I haven’t officially played since high school.” 

“Yes!” The first girl—Hanaue had called her ‘Muraokkun’ though that was hardly the name Akaashi was about to call her—cheered before reaching over to punch one of the other girls in the arm. “Ashley, this is going to be great.” 

The girl—Ashley—was tall even for a volleyball player and seemed to have strong arms. Her hair was dirty blond and held up in a messy bun that looked like it was falling out. The girl who hit her—’Muraokkun’—was about the height of an average volleyball player, her short hair bleached a white-blond, though her roots were obviously showing, reminding him of Bokuto even if his roots had been part of his look. 

“I want to practice too,” the one who Kuroda had texted raised her hand. “I was going to stay late tonight anyway.” 

“You know you need to go home,” Kuroda said, standing up from the bench he was still sitting on. “Grandma and Grandpa are coming for dinner.” 

“Damn, you’re right,” the girl–presumably Kuroda’s sister–clicked her tongue. “Tanaka, Aki-chan, and Kana-chan, you should stay and practice blocking with them.”

“Sorry, I have to go home too,” one of the girls responded. 

“Okay,” Bokuto finally said, cutting off the conversation. “If any of you want to stay, we’ll have some extra practice. But if you have school work to do or family commitments, you should go home.” 

\---   
In the end, five girls and three boys stayed. The boys were Hanaue Yuki, Inoue Ai, and Aoki Shun. The girls were Muraoka Ami–the vice-captain and setter–, Takamura Ashley–the team’s ace–, Suzuki Hana, Akiyama Midori, and Takashi Kana. Akaashi had learned that for reasons nobody seemed keen to give, the only third years on the girls’ team were the Libero and their Captain, with all three of their starting middle blockers being first-years and the rest being second-years. 

“So I guess that means I’ll work with the Muraoka-san and… who else should I work with?” Akaashi asked. 

“Can we work with Ashley too?” Muraoka asked, grabbing the ace’s arm. “She needs some practice!” 

“I want to practice with you!” Hanaue and Suzuki said at the same time, turning to glare at each other. 

“Well, I guess I’ll take the rest,” Bokuto laughed. “I guess I’m having some extra blocking practice.” 

“Okay…” Akaashi agreed, looking at the kids waiting patiently for him to give them some instruction. “Umm… I guess we should just start with some spike practice. Let’s have two spikers on this side of the net and one on the other side. Muraoka-san, you’ll toss to whoever you want. Whichever spiker is tossed to should try to spike it near the player on the other side. They should receive it like you were passing to a setter. Then grab the ball and switch with the person who hit it… Does that make sense?” 

The kids nodded and Akaashi added another question. 

“Is that the kind of drill you guys do?” 

“Akaashi-san, there’s no need to worry,” Muraoka insisted. “Whatever you have planned will work out great, I’d bet!” 

“Maybe I should ask you four what you want to improve first,” Akaashi said, backtracking on his plans quickly because somehow Muraoka’s confidence in him made him more uncertain. “If you stayed for extra practice, you must have something in mind.” 

“I want to be more accurate,” Muraoka volunteered. “My tosses aren’t as accurate as our old setter’s were.” 

“I don’t want to get blocked as much,” Hanaue said next. “I think I’m easy to read.”

“I want more power,” Suzuki told Akaashi. “And I want to have a stronger serve.”

“How about you?” Akaashi asked Takamura when she didn’t speak up. “Is there anything you want to improve?”

“Umm…” Takamura’s voice was small a quiet and she looked terrified of Akaashi. “I’d really like to improve overall. Risa-senpai was a really great ace and I don’t think I can replace her.” 

“Quit selling yourself short!” Muraoka exclaimed. “You’re a great ace! You just need more confidence!” 

“Okay,” Akaashi said, noticing that Bokuto’s group had already started practicing. “How about this: Suzuki-san, you can serve. Hanaue-kun and Takamura-san, you’ll try and receive. Muraoka-san, you’ll toss to either Hanaue-kun or Takamura-san…” Akaashi looked over at Bokuto’s group before calling over. “Bokuto-san, can I borrow one of your blockers?” 

“Sure,” Bokuto responded. “Who wants to help Akaashi?” 

Akiyama was the one who ended up joining them and Akaashi instructed her and Suzuki to try and block the spike. He was worried this would be too complicated or not work, but Akaashi honestly had no idea what he was doing and just wanted to help all the kids improve. 

He was pretty sure this was going to fail. 

But as he watched the activity proceed, there weren’t as many kinks in the plan as he expected. In the end, the other three blockers came over and tried their hand at blocking as a group, with Suzuki and Hanaue switching places every so often to give Suzuki a chance to spike. 

“Good drill, Akaashi” Bokuto commented as they stood to the side, watching the kids.

“I don’t know if this is even a real drill,” Akaashi admitted. “It’s more like half a scrimmage.” 

“I’m pretty sure we’ve at least done a version of this together,” Bokuto told him. “How would you feel about us joining in? I really want to hit a few of your tosses again.”

“There’s no way they’re as good as they used to be,” Akaashi told him. “Then again, knowing you, you’d hit them just fine.” 

“You flatter me,” Bokuto said, a joking demureness in his voice. 

“I always do,” Akaashi shot back. “Come on, it’s now or never. Let’s see if I can still toss to you.” 

“You’re muscle memory is probably more than enough to carry you through this exercise.” 

“I hope you’re right,” Akaashi told him.

“We’re joining,” Bokuto announced, “If the ball is received on the right, send it to Muraokkun. If it’s on the left, send it to Akaashi.” 

The first time a ball came to him, Akaashi suddenly realized Bokuto was right about muscle memory. Sure, he wasn’t as strong as he used to be, but the motions still existed deep in his mind. The toss to Bokuto was hardly perfect, but the way Bokuto hit it made it seem like it was. Bokuto hit it like it was easy because, for him, maybe it was. 

In high school, Akaashi had thought Bokuto was a star and that hadn’t changed. 

Bokuto’s spike blew through the hands of the two first-years and Akaashi thought maybe Bokuto should have pulled back a little, but knowing that Bokuto wasn’t always good at thinking about things like that. In high school, he’d never pulled a punch for Akaashi when they practiced. No, instead they practiced for much too long and Akaashi was always so tired afterward and, yet, he’d loved it. 

“Ah, your tosses are still the best, Akaashi,” Bokuto told him with a big smile that brought Akaashi back to high school. 

“You’re just being nice,” Akaashi said. “You’ve played with the best setters in the country.”

“None of ‘em hold a candle to you,” Bokuto told him, making Akaashi turn just a little red. “Okay, Ashley-san, Hanaue, you’ve gotta practice a few spikes with Akaashi. You too, Suzuki.” 

Even though Akaashi didn’t know that he really wanted to toss to anyone other than Bokuto right now, he knew that’s what he was here to do. And, anyway, it just felt nice to hear Bokuto dropping the honorific from his name. 

Here, in this gym, it almost felt like nothing had changed and for a moment Akaashi could let himself pretend everything was okay. He could pretend they were still teammates and best friends. 

He was content to pretend this association they now had wasn’t built on such uncertain ground.

\---   
Once they finished cleaning up—Akaashi and Bokuto had stuck around even though Hanaue insisted they could close up—they and the kids headed out together, Bokuto stopping at a convenience store to buy everyone kushiyaki, much to the players’ delight. After he finished passing out the meat to everyone but Akaashi, he smiled and handed Akaashi a small plastic bag. Looking inside, Akaashi found it contained two onigiri and he smiled despite himself. 

“Thank you,” he said softly as the kids joked with each other, oblivious to the two adults with them. 

“I realized that I didn’t know if you had a favorite kind, so I got you salmon and umeboshi. Seemed like safe choices.” 

“I’ll eat most onigiri,” Akaashi admitted. “But these are two of my favorites.” 

“Oh, I’m glad.” 

“I’m surprised you remembered something like this,” Akaashi told him, trying out honestly and finding he sort of liked how it felt. 

“It was hard to forget after you and Yukippe fought over who should eat the last onigiri at breakfast.”

“I’d forgotten about that,” Akaashi said, feeling his cheeks turn red. “That was my first training camp with Fukurodani, too. I can’t believe I did that.” 

“You weren’t really a morning person so I think you were also a bit grumpy about that.” 

“I definitely was,” Akaashi agreed, opening the umeboshi onigiri and takin a bite. “Also, I wanted that onigiri, I was hungry.” 

“Which of you ended up getting it?” 

“Neither of us, Bokuto-san, you ate it,” Akaashi said with a playful glare. “You said that if we couldn’t decide, you would help us.” 

Bokuto laughed loudly at that, drawing the attention of the kids who looked over at them curiously. 

“How did I forget that? I was the best.” 

Akaashi huffed, but he could feel a smile creeping onto his lips as he watched Bokuto laugh, the kids falling quiet as they watched. Finally, Muraoka spoke up. 

“What’s so funny?” She spoke in a sort of masculine and aggressive way, but Akaashi could tell she didn’t mean anything by it. “I’ve never seen you laugh that hard, Sensei.” 

“We were talking about dumb stuff Bokuto-san did in high school,” Akaashi told them. 

“Really?” Hanaue asked, his eyes lighting up. “Tell us some stories!” 

“Akaashi, don’t you dare,” Bokuto warned. 

“What, Bokuto-san, I was just going to tell them about the time you and Sarukui-san got stuck on the roof of the gym,” Akaashi said with mock innocence. “Or maybe I should tell them about how you decided for Halloween you were going to try to scare people and when you scared Shirofuku-san, she punched you in the face and gave you a black eye.” 

“Akaashi,” Bokuto whined as the students laughed or giggled behind their hands. 

“Okay, okay,” Akaashi said, chuckling as he patted Bokuto on the arm. “I’ll stop now. You kids should hurry home. Make sure you eat a good dinner and study before bed.” 

Some of the kids tried to protest, but after a stern look from Bokuto, they relented. Before leaving they first thanked Bokuto for the food and then thanked Akaashi for helping them practice. After that, they dispersed, leaving Bokuto and Akaashi alone outside the convenience store. 

“Are you going to the train station?” Bokuto asked once Akaashi finished his second onigiri and threw away the trash. 

“Yeah, you?” 

“Me too. But I think we might be going in different directions. My place is near the gym.”

“You’re right, I need to take the subway,” Akaashi said, feeling a little disappointed. “At least we’ll be able to walk to the station together.”

They headed out, silence falling between them as Akaashi struggled for a topic. But he had no idea what to say, his previous feeling of calm from how well everything had gone leaving him. 

Finally, he found some words. 

“Thank you for this, it was nice to go back. I was afraid it would be too hard to see all the changes, but it was actually nice. And, in the end, not much has changed. Coach Yamiji is still there and the place looks the same. You were even still there and we stayed for extra practice like we used to.” Akaashi chuckled. “Even if it was different kids, it wasn’t so much different from getting a new batch of first-years.” 

“I’m really glad you decided to come back and you even practiced with us. I thought maybe you’d just come to a game. I was really happy to see you there.” 

“It’s been so long since I practiced volleyball,” Akaashi said quietly as they stopped at a crosswalk to wait for the signal to change. “I’m glad I got to practice with you.” 

“Your tosses really are still the best,” Bokuto said. “Hey, Akaashi?”

“Yeah?”

“You know, our gym had squash courts you can rent out and, like, as long as you don’t damage anything they don’t really care what sports you do. Maybe we could go once in a while as, like, practice some volleyball together. I really miss practicing with you. It was the worst part of being on the national team.”

“You’re exaggerating,” Akaashi mumbled, the light changing and letting them head closer to the train station. It was in view now and soon they’d be splitting up for the night, just like back in high school. It was all too much like high school and yet not enough like it. “But, yeah, that sounds like fun. I’d love to practice a little with you.”

“Really?” Bokuto smiled widely and Akaashi felt like he was being blinded by the brightness of it. “That’s great! Oh, we never exchanged numbers, we should do that. Then we can figure out what day is the best.” 

“Okay,” Akaashi said as they stopped outside the train station to exchange numbers. “Well, my gate is this way.”

“Okay, I’ll see you later, Akaashi.”

“See you later, Bokuto-san.” 

Akaashi watched Bokuto leave then headed to his own gate, adding Bokuto’s contact and being sure to add an owl emoji next to his name. When Bokuto and Akaashi had shared numbers in high school, Bokuto had added his own name to Akaashi’s phone and he’d been the one to attach the emoji, saying it would make him easier to remember as if Akaashi would ever forget him. Akaashi hadn’t even considered putting emojis next to people’s contacts until that moment and, to be honest, he’d never done it for anyone else’s contact. 

But, for Bokuto, it would feel wrong not to put the owl.

He was about to slip his phone back into his pocket when a message came in. 

<i>From Bokuto🦉: Thanks again 4 coming!</i>

<i>To Bokuto🦉: Thanks for inviting me.</i>

<i>From Bokuto🦉: I cant wait to practice more with u! Im so so happy we ran into each other!</i>

<i>To Bokuto🦉: Me too.</i>

Akaashi put his phone away as he got onto his train, feeling lighter and like maybe the universe was, for the first time in a long time, on his side. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One chapter to go!


	4. Imperfect Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ended up a little short, but I think it's what this chapter needs to be.

“All they do is ask when you’re going to come back,” Bokuto complained as he and Akaashi headed for the squash courts, a volleyball in hand. “You’ve completely charmed them.”

“It’s just because I’m someone different,” Akaashi responded. “Or maybe they’re just messing with you.”

“I’m telling you, it’s because you’ve charmed them. Even some of the girls ask about you when they see me during school.”

Akaashi laughed at that, not sure what to say but finding it very funny none-the-less. 

“It’s not so different from high school, really,” Bokuto complained as they started checking the room numbers to find their court. “It’s a different type of ego hit, but it still hurts.” 

“What in the world are you talking about?” Akaashi asked honestly, following Bokuto in court three. 

“Don’t you remember? Girls used to come to ask me if you were single and stuff like that. Or just ask about your schedule.” 

“Huh?” 

“What’d you mean? It was the worst in 3rd year when they’d just ask me straight up to–” Bokuto stopped short, his mouth falling open. “Oh, I just remembered something.” 

“Bokuto-san, please explain to me what is going on. I’m very lost.” 

“Well, back in high school you had a lot of admirers but most of them were too afraid to just walk up to you out of the blue so they’d try to get me to help and in my 2nd year I did a little bit because mostly they wanted me to give you notes and stuff.” 

Akaashi did remember some of those notes, but they were often anonymous. And, anyway, there was only one person who held his attention for very long. And, in the end, people lost interest and he didn’t receive much attention his 2nd year. 

“But then they wanted more, like for me to set up meetings so they could, I guess, confess…” Bokuto was blushing hard now, looking down at the floor. “I guess I was a little jealous so I might have… not really… helped…” 

“Wait,” Akaashi blinked at Bokuto. “Are you telling me you purposefully kept girls from confessing to me?” 

“I’m really sorry!” Bokuto exclaimed. “It was stupid and selfish, I’m sorry.”

Akaashi couldn’t help but laugh, the sound making Bokuto look up, surprise written plainly on his face. 

“I cannot believe you did that and just because you were jealous,” Akaashi said through laughter. 

“Akaashi, why are you laughing?” Bokuto asked, sounding frantic. “Are you angry?”

“It’s just so funny,” Akaashi said, wiping away tears as he got control of his laughter. “And I’m not angry, it’s in the past. Actually, I was pretty relieved when the notes stopped so I think I should be thanking you.” 

This wasn’t the first time they’d done some practice together on the squash courts at their gym so they didn’t talk about what to do, simply starting to pass the volleyball back and forth as they continued to chat. 

“Why didn’t you want the notes?” Bokuto asked curiously. 

“I wasn’t really interested,” Akaashi said, feeling his face heating up. “I had other things on my mind.” 

By the time he was in his 2nd year, Akaashi had fully accepted that his fascination had turned to infatuation and that he had a crush on Bokuto. Or, he hadn’t accepted it, but he was aware of it. 

“High school was such a weird time,” Bokuto mused as Akaashi sent him a high toss and he smiled, jumping up to slam it back down to the ground, the ball bouncing away from them. “How many girlfriends did Konoha have?” 

“Five, I think,” Akaashi said as Bokuto gathering the ball back up and they switched to a simple spiking drill. “Or was it six?” 

Bokuto laughed, “Well three girls broke up with him because he spent too much time at volleyball practice, one broke up with him because he had a bad sense of humor, and one broke up with him because they were convinced he was also dating someone on the volleyball team.”

“That’s right,” Akaashi snorted. “She said she didn’t know which of us he was dating but she knew it was happening.” 

“In the end, she was almost right, just a few years too early.”

“What?” Akaashi asked, scrunching his eyebrows together. 

“Oh, I guess you wouldn’t know, but Konoha and Saru have been dating for almost three years.” 

“I didn’t even know they were gay.” 

“Well, Saru came out I think five years ago. He seemed so happy after coming out even though he lost his job and it sorta made me start thinking about coming out.” Bokuto paused for a moment before continuing. “Konoha didn’t come out as bi to us until he and Saru started dating. When Konoha told me I was so freaked out because he was so serious. Until he said he was bisexual I thought he was dying or something.” 

Bokuto threw the volleyball in the air towards Akaashi, but instead of setting it, Akaashi simply caught it, looking at it with hard eyes so he didn’t have to look at Bokuto. 

“I’m sorry.” 

“What?”

“I’m sorry,” Akaashi repeated. “For the last seven years.” 

“I don’t understand why you’re apologizing.” 

“Because this is my fault. What was I doing? I just ignored you all like our two years together meant nothing.” Akaashi squeezed the volleyball between his hands, the force feeling a little painful and yet he couldn’t stop himself. “I was so scared of losing you and then I went and let you drift away from me.” 

“Akaashi, I didn’t… We both stopped talking,” Bokuto told him. “There wasn’t a reason and it wasn’t your fault, it just happened. We were both busy.” 

“But I knew you were bad at texting. I knew you were back at long-distances. I knew all of that and I didn’t try. I just let you go and it’s no wonder you did the same, after everything I did that last year and a half.”

“Akaashi, I don’t know what that means.”

Akaashi couldn’t look at Bokuto, feeling even worse when he heard the hurt and confusion in his voice, but suddenly he’d been struck by the realization that no matter what had happened recently, they were still barely more than strangers and it was Akaashi’s fault. He’d been running away since the day Bokuto graduated, hoping if he kept running then nobody could see everything wrong with him. 

“I was a coward.” Akaashi shook his head. “I am a coward.” 

“Akaashi, you’re scaring me.” 

Akaashi looked up at Bokuto, unable to stop himself from crying even though he didn’t want to be crying. But even when he didn’t want to cry in front of Bokuto, somehow Bokuto made it so easy. 

“Akaashi!” Bokuto took a step toward Akaashi but when he told a step back, Bokuto paused. “Akaashi?” 

“You’re so nice and I’m so mean. You’re warm and I’m cold. You’ve given me so much and I can’t give anything. Here I am crying when this is my fault.” The pain was finally too much in his hands and wrists so he let his arms fall, still holding the volleyball between his hands. “You don’t have to pretend you didn’t realize. I was a coward and maybe that hurt us more than the truth would have.”

“Akaashi, I’m honestly really lost.” Akaashi believed Bokuto even if he didn’t understand why Bokuto was lost. “Why do you keep saying you’re a coward?” 

“My third-year loss when I cried into your shirt like we were…” Akaashi shook his head. “Your graduation when I hugged you and it must have seemed like… at first… How could you not know? I just kept pushing the limits of friendship and that’s why you and I drifted because I couldn’t be honest with you.”

“Akaashi, take some deep breaths, please,” Bokuto begged. “And tell me what’s going on in your head, I can’t read your mind.” 

“You’ve all moved on and I just stayed stuck in the past,” Akaashi whispered. “I lost you all because the world moved on but I didn’t. I couldn’t.” 

“That’s okay, it happens to all of us. University was hard for me too, I didn’t know who I was and what I was doing.” 

“And I wasn’t there for you!” Akaashi shouted, dropping the volleyball so he could pull one hand through his hair. “What am I saying? I'm so full of myself to think I could have been there for you. You were my world and that scared me so I ran away. But to think you felt the same was is conceded and stupid. You were always a star and I was just a moon, happy to bounce a little of your light off of myself so I could shine. But I would never shine as brightly as you because, in the end, I’m just a chunk of lifeless rock.” 

Bokuto pursed his lips and closed the distance between them, grabbing Akaashi’s cheeks tightly between his hands. 

“Stop being stupid! Even when the moon is dark and we can’t see it, it still makes the tides! Some of the strongest tides are during the new moon and that’s not nothing.” 

Akaashi looked into Bokuto’s eyes, uncertain how to argue with his logic. Somehow Bokuto had easily torn apart Akaashi’s melodramatic metaphor without skipping a beat. 

“And, besides, shining when you’re with other people isn’t a bad thing! We all shine brighter when we’re with the right people.” 

Akaashi closed his eyes, laughing despite himself as he leaned toward Bokuto, though he couldn’t really move thanks to Bokuto’s firm grip on his face. 

“How are you still like this?”

“Like what?”

“Wise.”

“Am I?” 

“Yeah…” Akaashi sighed, opening his eyes and looking at Bokuto for a long while before speaking quietly. “How do you still do this to me?” 

“Do this… do what?” 

“Make me feel like I can do anything.” Akaashi sighed again, deciding to just come out with it. “On your graduation day, when we were alone, I wasn’t thinking about giving you a hug when I asked you to come with me.” 

“You weren’t?”

“You had to have noticed how weirdly I initiated the hug.”

“I really didn’t.”

“Well, maybe we didn’t hug much so you really didn’t notice, but…” Akaashi took a deep breath and held it for a few moments to give him one last chance to back down. “I was planning to kiss you.” 

There was silence between then and Akaashi was quickly becoming aware of the fact that Bokuto was still holding onto his face and could probably feel the heat in Akaashi’s face better than he could see it. 

“You were… planning to kiss me?” 

“Yes.”

Finally, Bokuto released Akaashi’s face, but neither of them stepped away, which made Akaashi feel a little bit better, though not that much so. 

“I first saw you play while I was in junior high school and you fascinated me. You weren’t the only reason I chose Fukurodani, but you played a part. Then, slowly, I noticed that something had changed. By the time I was in my second year I realized my fascination had turned into a crush. When you graduated I decided I had to do it, I had to tell you or show you how I felt, but in the end, I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship. Then it was all for nothing, though, because I let you drift away and maybe part of the reason was that I felt like I was hiding some terrible secret from you. I felt like a bad friend.” 

“Wait, so, in high school, you had a crush on me?” Bokuto asked, his eyes wide and unblinking. 

“Yeah…” Akaashi looked down. “That’s why I wasn’t that interested in confession letters, okay?” 

“Konoha is going to kill me.” 

“Huh?” Akaashi looked up at Bokuto, completely lost. “What are you talking about.”

“He told me to stop pining and just tell you how I felt, but I was still trying to pretend to be straight so I just ignored him.” Bokuto let out a sound of annoyance. “Why was I so stupid in high school?” 

“Bokuto-san, are you saying…” Akaashi swallowed dryly. “Are you saying you also liked me?” 

“Yeah, though I tried to pretend I didn’t. Straight guys don’t have crushes on their best guy friends.” 

Akaashi barked out a laugh, unable to keep it in. “I can’t believe it.” 

“Why’d you think I said I was jealous of those girls?” 

“I thought you meant you were jealous because you wanted them to be confessing to you,” Akaashi defended before sighing and sitting down on the floor, feeling tired. “I never thought this was going to be how today went.” 

Bokuto sat down and smiled at Akaashi. “I’m kinda glad it happened, though.”

“Yeah, me too…” Akaashi sighed again. “I guess I should tell you that I’m not sure I ever really stopped having a crush on you. My college boyfriend dumped me because he said he couldn’t compete with you.”

“So… do you have a crush on me now?” 

“I don’t know, maybe? It’s hard to tell since we sort of started in a weird place.”

“Well,” Bokuto shifted so he was kneeling. “Why don’t we start over?”

“Huh?” Akaashi blinked at Bokuto. 

“Well, I think I might still have a crush on you, but it’s hard to tell with how weird our relationship is right now.” Akaashi could agree with that. “So, let’s start over. I’m Bokuto Koutarou, it’s nice to meet you.”

Akaashi chuckled as Bokuto bowed to him and he assumed the same position, bowing as he spoke. 

“I’m Akaashi Keiji, it’s nice to meet you too.” 

Bokuto giggled and Akaashi chuckled and that made Bokuto laugh, which also made Akaashi laugh, the two of them laughing more and more until they were just laying on the squash court, laughing at the ceiling. 

It wasn’t perfect and it wasn’t even careful like Akaashi usually liked, but it didn’t feel uncertain anymore and Akaashi liked that feeling. He knew they weren’t perfect, could never be perfect friends after everything they’d been through, but at the end of the day, imperfection was exactly what he wanted. 

He’d fallen in love with an imperfect high school ace and he thought he might be able to do the same for this imperfect high school coach because, sometimes, damaged friends and flawed lovers were the most perfect people in the world. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to those of you who stuck around for my continuation of this supposed to be a one-shot. Honestly, in a lot of ways, this continuation was a way for me to work through my own feelings about what's been happening in the Haikyuu manga. Much like Akaashi, I had to come to terms with the fact that change is okay and that even if sometimes things don't go exactly as you wanted (I really wanted to see my owl boys play again ;___;) that doesn't mean something great can't happen instead..... 
> 
> Okay, enough of me airing out my confused feelings about HQ... Thanks again for reading this and I'm glad you enjoyed it! Sorry if you were hoping for some real romance, but it just wouldn't have fit. Don't worry, though, in about six months these two will start dating officially.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a short one-shot written to get me out of a writing funk I've been in. Anyone keeping up with my ongoing works shouldn't worry, this is just me trying to get myself out of the funk that's been holding me back. 
> 
> This didn't turn out exactly how I wanted, but its purpose is really just to get me back to writing my other fics and to get me out of my own head. 
> 
> If there's interest in this story being continued, I would consider writing a handful more follow-up chapters, but even if I do end up doing that, I don't know when that would happen. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! Please leave kudos or comments if you like it :D


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